Former nominated senator Gloria Orwoba has alleged that President William Ruto shifted his focus towards private business interests immediately after taking office.

According to Orwoba, Ruto abandoned his campaign promise to dismantle state capture and instead turned existing corrupt systems into personal business opportunities.

Speaking during an interview with a local station on Friday, April 3, 2026, Orwoba noted that there were instances of corruption, which she said were overlooked as opportunities by those in power.

Orwoba said Ruto became focused on doing business, viewing the existing corrupt structures not as problems to be solved but as opportunities to be seized.

“William Ruto got into power and became so focused on doing business. Where we were seeing corrupt dealings when trying to run that government, he saw opportunities,” Orwoba said.

e-citizen platform

Orwoba cited a primary example that involves the eCitizen platform, which provides essential government services to citizens, a platform that was owned by a private entity.

Orwoba said that Ruto took over the business interest instead of giving the service back to the public.

“You’ve heard Gachagua come out and say, in fact, Ruto was so mad that this thing is owned by a private entity making money off of Kenyans who are paying for services. So he called the owners of that e-citizen thing, and everyone was happy because we were thinking it’s going to come to an end. And now the allegation that has been put out is that, in fact, what he did is that he bought them out,” Orwoba said.

Opposition leaders on e-citizen

The opposition leaders, led by the former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua, have been criticizing the platform, citing corrupt dealings behind the system.

Lawyer and political commentator Willis Otieno has also launched a blistering attack on President William Ruto, accusing him of presiding over a corrupt system in the wake of revelations that billions of shillings collected through the eCitizen platform cannot be accounted for.

In a hard-hitting statement shared on his X account on Thursday, August 21, 2025, Otieno argued that the President has turned public office into personal property, undermining constitutional principles and betraying the trust of Kenyans.

He maintained that the presidency should not be used as a tool for deceit, impunity, or looting through proxies and state-run platforms such as eCitizen, but rather as an office of service to the people.

Otieno further warned that the mismanagement of public resources erodes confidence in government institutions and entrenches corruption at the highest levels of leadership.

“Mr. Ruto, your presidency cannot be built on deceit and impunity. You cannot trample on the Constitution by treating public office as private property. Kenya did not elect you to loot through proxies and platforms like eCitizen but to serve,” Otieno stated.